We are delighted to introduce Brad Martel as the newest member of the CBR family! After 10 years of investing in CBR financially and five years of volunteering, Brad retired from his job as an engineer and has taken on the role of Project Manager.

Brad and his wife Diana have lived in Knoxville for over 30 years. He first heard of CBR from a church friend. Initially, these very newsletters were his only form of communication with us. At first, the graphic images made them difficult to read, but he admired CBR’s persistence in using them to defend the preborn.

After five years of monthly giving and reading our stories, Brad was inspired to volunteer with us. Volunteer Coordinator Jane Bullington invited him to GAP, saying, “It will change your life!”
Jane could not have been more right! Brad’s first time “in the field” was at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2018. He continued volunteering as much as he could over the next five years, saying he “was impressed with the directness of the pro-life message and with the staff … I found I enjoyed the impact we have and the camaraderie.”

In 2022, Brad felt convicted to work for CBR. It just so happened that Fletcher also felt that Brad needed to be working with CBR and asked him directly to quit his job and join the staff. After much apprehensive prayer, he heard the Lord say, “It’s an opportunity, Brad.”

When he retired last summer, Brad began working full-time for CBR. As Project Manager, he organizes and leads The Genocide Awareness Project and other events.

To support Brad’s work, please visit AbortionNo.org/SE/give and designate your gift to “SE GAP Director (SE-BJM)”.

Did you know that we show abortion victim images to the public around Knoxville on a regular basis? We do this through our Reproductive Choice Campaign (RCC). The RCC is simply driving our big box truck with abortion images on both sides and back through heavily trafficked areas around town.

On the first day of classes at UT-Knoxville, our truck driver, John Stair, was ready to hit the road! A few times that day, John was stuck in heavy traffic right in the middle of campus. It was the perfect opportunity for thousands of students to see the horror of abortion. Later this semester, we plan to do our Genocide Awareness Project at UTK, so these students will have plenty more where that came from!

During our last visit to the U of Tennessee, we were greeted by a dozen women whose tops consisted entirely of small but strategically placed squares of duct tape. We can only imagine how much it hurt to peel those off. OUCH! 

Yes, they were pretty nasty. The level of hate is quite astonishing, but understandable. These children have been taught to hate their country, hate people who don’t agree with them, and, in some cases, even hate their own bodies.   They appear to have learned that lesson well.

Still, we were encouraged by a steady stream of students who stopped and thanked us for being there. Even on campuses that seem completely overcome with darkness, we always seem to find those few who are lights amidst that darkness.

Inspiring faith. Debbie Picarello was stationed near GAP representing Deeper Still, a post-abortion healing ministry and was able to reach many students who desperately needed it.

Julie was 19 when she aborted at 5 weeks.  She was sure God knew she wasn’t “ready.”  But now she is comforted by a little girl in her dreams.  The girl appears to be 3 years old.  Debbie told her many post-abortive women have dreams of their children in heaven.

Julie was not ready to come out of denial, but she did say, “Your faith is inspiring me today.”

Praying for courage to speak. Melody was almost aborted. Her dad took her mother to the clinic for a consultation. But when her mother came back the next day, sidewalk counselors spoke with her and took her across the street to the Hope Resource Center. This was Aug 18, 2000. Now both Melody and her mom are Christ followers. Melody realizes she has a special story to tell and is praying for the courage to tell it.

Caleb has been involved in pro-life work for about 4 years. Before he was saved, his girlfriend had an abortion. “Supporting her in that decision ruined my life,” says Caleb.

After experiencing the trauma of abortion firsthand, Caleb felt called to speak out. He believes that one of his biggest roles in the pro-life field is to speak with the fathers of potential abortion victims. Caleb explains to them that, contrary to what pro-aborts say, men DO have a voice and a place in the pro-life movement. He emphasizes that these men will be just as impacted as the mother in the aftermath of abortion.

Caleb’s pro-life work started with volunteering outside of an abortion clinic. He noticed that he and the other volunteers had a low success rate. By the time a mother and father were driving to the clinic, it was almost always too late. He knew he needed to do something more proactive where he could reach people before they’d made up their minds.

When he heard about CBR’s unique activism methods, it was exactly what Caleb had been praying for. As a veteran, he appreciates that CBR plans their activities and evaluates tactics based on what’s been proven effective. Caleb volunteered with CBR before joining the internship program to help him discern his place in the pro-life movement.

We are so blessed to have Caleb with us this summer. We know he has much to contribute to the cause for life.

Taylor is a 19-year-old Knoxville native. She is entering her senior year at the University of Tennessee, pursuing a degree in journalism and electronic media. Her long-term goals include having and homeschooling many children while working part-time in the pro-life movement.

Taylor is a devout Catholic. Even though she grew up in the Church, she didn’t hear much about abortion until she was 14. By the time she was 16, Taylor felt called to defending the unborn. Taylor’s core belief is that life is precious from fertilization to natural death and should therefore be protected legally and honored morally.

One of Taylor’s proudest accomplishments is the completion of her Stars and Stripes Award, the highest level award a girl can earn in American Heritage Girls (AHG). AHG is an organization devoted to “building women of integrity through service to God, family, community, and country.” To receive this award, Taylor planned, implemented, and lead a 100-hour service project for Tennessee Right to Life, improving their prayer garden next to Planned Parenthood. She added a sign, a new statue, a literature/prayer box, lighting for the walkway, and other sources of color to the garden.

After this internship, Taylor intends to volunteer (or work part-time) with CBR while she finishes school. She hopes to continue working in communications and education in the pro-life movement, using her degree to help make abortion illegal and unthinkable.

We are tickled that Taylor has joined us this summer and look forward to seeing all she accomplishes in the future!

Ilyssa is a senior intern, returning to CBR for a second year. She just graduated with her bachelor’s in Anthropology from Cleveland State University (CSU) and is planning on getting a master’s degree from CSU next year.

CSU’s leftist campus made Ilyssa realize that many of her peers were misinformed about abortion. The skills she learned and the people she met while working for CBR last summer gave her the confidence and courage to start a pro-life club at her school in hopes of informing her classmates on the issue. The Club, CSU Advocates for Life, has done several events including tabling, a pro-life training academy (thank you, Fletcher!), and the Genocide Awareness Project. If you want to keep up with their activism, their Instagram handle is @csu_advocatesforlife.

“Pro-life students thanked us for being on campus, pro-aborts verbally attacked us, and those in the middle asked us questions. CBR’s display really made an impact,” Ilyssa said. She is excited to continue to bring truth to her campus next fall.

Ilyssa returned to CBR because she appreciates the effectiveness of our methods and our dedication to protecting humans and raising pro-life Christian leaders. “At our first GAP of the summer, hearing and seeing the reactions of the people we are reaching, whether pro-abortion or pro-life, really affirms the importance of what CBR does and my decision to keep working with them,” Ilyssa explained.

We are so pleased to have Ilyssa back with us!

At CBR, we’re not only saving lives of preborn children from abortion. We’re also saving born children from the lies of the pro-abortion culture. And, that’s the theme of our 6th Annual Pro Life Leadership Youth Camp: Countercultural.

As in past years, we will be offering two separate weeks of camp, in two different cities!

Click here for Knoxville, TN camp details.
Click here for Columbus, GA camp details.

Both camps are $100 per person, but additional campers from the same family will be discounted to $50 each. Please pass this information to your church leadership, youth ministries, and like-minded Christian parents and friends. Seats are limited! 

We offer this life-saving training far below cost, thanks to our generous venue hosts and partners.

Help keep camp affordable for all with a special gift here!
(designation: SE-YLC Youth Leadership Camp)

We are thrilled to welcome Cody and Amanda Levi of Knoxville, Tenn. to the CBR family! A newly married couple, they will both be serving as Student Outreach Coordinators, helping college students be more effective pro-life advocates.

Amanda just graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor’s degree in Law and  Policy. Cody is a graduate of The University of Tennessee with Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Psychology.

Amanda was raised pro-life and has always been passionate about the cause ever since finding out what abortion is and does to little human beings. Cody grew up in Dayton, Tenn., in a family where abortion was never really discussed or even mentioned.

After meeting at the speech and debate club at the University of Tennessee, Cody and Amanda had many conversations centering around the underpinnings of the Christian worldview, which included abortion.  When he understood that abortion violently and intentionally kills an innocent, preborn child, Cody knew that nothing could justify that act of murder.

While at UT, they noticed that there was no pro-life voice on campus, so Amanda and Cody co-founded the Vols for Life to teach students the scientific and philosophical arguments against abortion, so that they could defend the pro-life position more effectively.

Cody’s and Amanda’s goals at CBR are to (1) expose abortion for what it is, and (2) motivate, train, and equip college students to work with CBR to change public opinion in society, because we can never change public policy until we change public opinion.

We are so excited to have Amanda & Cody on our CBR team!

Our Summer Internship Program is well underway (actually it’s already half over!) but it’s been so jam-packed already, we’ve barely had time to introduce you to our 2022 Summer Interns! Here they are!

Bonnie is a sophomore at Roane State Community College, majoring in communications.  Born and raised in Clinton, Tennessee, she is the second of 11 children.  Her parents have homeschooled all of them.

Bonnie heard about CBR through an uncle who supports our work.  She has always been pro-life and wanted to do something about it. Painfully, she realized that just as German Christians had, through their silence, allowed Nazis to operate death camps, she too was allowing abortion through her silence.

She joined CBR because she believes abortion must be exposed in order to turn public opinion against it.  “CBR has a plan to win the fight against abortion, and I want to be part of it.”  Currently, Bonnie helps with our social media.  Check it out her awesome work!  Our handle on all platforms is @centerforbioethicalreform. 

Bonnie is also great in the field: “Doing GAP is surprisingly freeing.  I’ve gotten used to people yelling obscenities; that just makes me more bold and more determined.  It’s almost funny when someone is screaming and flipping us off.  I mentally respond, ‘Is that all you got?’  They can’t argue with the pictures.”

Noah is studying business administration at Columbus State University in Georgia.  He believes action is his moral obligation.

He first learned about CBR when we brought GAP to his campus in April.  For two days, he stood with CBR and debated pro-aborts. Within a week, he applied for the internship.

During his first outing with CBR, Noah found it generally amusing that pro-aborts think heckling will slow down the pro-life movement. 

Isaiah is a lover of Jesus, 4Runners, tacos, and quesadillas.  A returning intern from last year’s class, he has been studying life and working on a major in Jesus Christ.  Perhaps you are wondering, “How did someone like Isaiah get started in pro-life work?”  Never doubt the power of a pretty girl saying, “I’ll go next year if you do.”

This year Isaiah is setting out to do all things for Christ.  This has included cleaning bathrooms in a church, holding signs downtown, and witnessing to confused and calloused people.

One of his favorite Bible verses is Ezekiel 33:11: “Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.  Turn!  Turn from your evil ways!  Why will you die, People of Israel?’”

Ilyssa is a rising college senior studying anthropology at Cleveland State University.  After the past few years of living on a very leftist campus and having no conservative community, she needed to find an internship that “brings me closer to God, surrounds me with sane people, and helps end the atrocity of abortion.”  CBR was the perfect opportunity! (OK, she’s beginning to wonder about that “sane people” part.)

Growing up as a Christian, she has always been pro-life. But at Cleveland State, Ilyssa encountered the dangerously unhinged views of the left.  She knew they were wrong, but she couldn’t articulate why.  “CBR is perfect because I get to learn how to defend the pro-life position, do research, partake in activism, and interact with real people.  I hope to take what I learn back to Cleveland State and apply it.”

Her first GAP was enlightening.  It was like watching those demonic pro-abortion Tik Toks, but in real life.  Ilyssa also found it crazy how many people simply avoided looking at the signs.  “Standing outside holding those signs felt amazing. I could’ve stayed out there longer because, finally, I was doing something concrete about my pro-life beliefs.”  Ilyssa is so glad that she is a part of CBR and she is excited for the rest of the summer!

Thank you for supporting CBR and these outstanding young people. You have made this all possible. Please pray that God will bring them back to us and also send many more.

by Brad Martel

I first learned of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform on Valentine’s Day 2011. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was the keynote speaker at their benefit dinner, and I went to hear him. “The sanctity of human life,” Huckabee said, “transcends all other political issues.” I agreed with him, and I was glad to discover this organization that works to end the killing of unborn children.  CBR does this work not just with words, but with pictures that undeniably expose abortion for the evil that it truly is.

However, this event got me examining myself. Did I treat abortion like it transcends all other issues? In all the time that I had been pro-life, what had I ever done about it?  Beyond voting for pro-life politicians every year or two, I had to admit I’d done nothing.  But here was an opportunity to make a difference! So, I became a CBR supporter.  I chose to make a monthly donation that, while small, would be significant over time.

Then the newsletters started to arrive. Each time, I wanted to prepare myself to see the graphic pictures, so I soon learned to procrastinate instead of opening them right away. How awful to see the abortion victims again!  How awful that this even happens!  But I did open the newsletters.  I did see the pictures, and I read the stories.  Stories of young people responding to CBR’s campus projects, some with shock, some with sadness, and some with denial or worse. I appreciated the courage and persistence of the CBR team, and their willingness to spend whole days with the awful pictures that I could only promptly return to the envelope after reading the stories.

After a few years I learned to manage my aversion to the photos and looked forward to the newsletters.  I remained impressed with CBR’s encounters on college campuses and the reactions of the passersby, ranging from sympathetic to hostile to sometimes positively loopy.  I began to wonder what it would be like to serve alongside this group, to see what it’s like, and maybe even have some of these conversations myself.

In 2018 I reached out to CBR with a simple email.  Volunteer coordinator Jane Bullington invited me to a Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) in April of that year and promised me: “You will never be the same!”  Then came the hard part; I had to prepare.  I looked up CBR’s website, AbortionNo.org, and as the abortion video played on the home page, I found myself leaning back in my chair as if to shield myself from the real-life horror story.  I looked over the abortion victim photos.  I read Gregg Cunningham’s “Why Abortion is Genocide,” and learned how to compare abortion to slavery and other genocides.

I did not know what to expect on my first day of GAP at the University of Tennessee.  I had never met any of the staff before. I thought that perhaps, with the graphic photos and such a sobering message, I would be meeting a somber, melancholy group of people.  I was relieved to find that, though quite serious about the mission, these people have joy!  I came to understand this attitude in part as a sense of satisfaction in supporting the important work.  “There’s something special,” staffer Mik’aela Raymond said one day, “about doing something hard for God.”

CBR paired me with staff members and experienced volunteers so that I could learn on-the-job how to talk to students about abortion.  They taught me with both their example and with useful tips that they would share after our conversations.  I learned over time that I could do this, even by myself! Having gained some confidence, I wanted to learn more.  I read Stephanie Gray’s book, “Love Unleashes Life,” which urges us to focus first on the person standing before us, their background, and their needs.  I also read “Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal,” Karen Ellison’s thoughtful book about the grief that abortion brings and how God can heal those wounds.

I volunteer with CBR a few times a year now, and though I have plenty more to learn, I am comfortable now defending the pro-life position to strangers.  I have met dozens of students at these events; some supportive, some against, and some who just don’t know where they stand.  I have had thoughtful conversations and some not so thoughtful.  I have been ridiculed and yelled at with cursing and swearing.  Not often, but it happens.  But none of the negative feedback matters.  What matters are the times that I have led a student to set aside the slogans and really think about the unborn child as a human being.

And even when those conversations are lacking, I remind myself that it’s the abortion victim photos and not our conversations that carry the bulk of our pro-life message.  The images affect all who see them, whether they stop to talk or not.  Each day that I leave GAP it is with a sense of satisfaction that my contribution helps others to choose life.

I cannot identify a specific moment when I felt a calling or experienced a revelation that told me I should volunteer with CBR.  I agree with what Lincoln Brandenburg said recently during his interview on The Pro-Life Guys Podcast: “Don’t wait for feelings of passion… step out in obedience.” Although I had no previous experience with pro-life activism, and I have a full-time job that affords me only occasional availability, I can make a difference for the unborn children of America.  I would encourage anyone with a heart for the unborn to volunteer with CBR.  “You will never be the same.”

Brad Martel is an engineer and lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife.  They have three grown children. 

Triniti Patterson

We are blessed again to have four outstanding young people joining us for our Summer Intern Program. Triniti Patterson, Rebekah Warren, Isaiah Abney, and Klayton Wasson come from all over the country and bring many different interests and talents to our merry band of pro-life missionaries here at CBR.

Triniti grew up in Southern California, and was aware of abortion as a child because her dad was a street preacher and activist.  However, it wasn’t until the New York Reproductive Healthcare Act was passed in January 2019 that she realized the extreme horror of abortion and decided to become active in the fight to end it.

Triniti is a rising junior at Cedarville University, studying political science and Biblical counseling. When asked what her most noteworthy experience of the internship has been so far, she said:

I really used to think that anyone could be persuaded by facts and logic, because we are created as logical beings.  But people who are being controlled by demons and dark spirits cannot be convinced of goodness by facts and logic alone.  Working for CBR has made that clear to me.

Rebekah Warren

In the future, Triniti hopes to continue working in the pro-life movement, potentially with CBR or as a crisis therapist.  We won’t beat around the bush: we hope she sticks with us!

Rebekah, a St. Louis native, also comes from a pro-life family.  In fact, her parents have supported CBR for many years and have obviously raised their children to be serious pro-life Christians.  Now a rising senior majoring in Accounting & Entrepreneurship at Baylor University, we have great hopes that she will bring her many talents to CBR and work with us to end legalized child-killing.

Interning with CBR was not even initially Rebekah’s plan for this summer.  She had applied last fall and then forgot about it and began pursuing accounting internships through Baylor.  When we contacted her to interview this winter, she had just been presented with a fantastic business internship offer.  After the interview, Rebekah says she was “both convicted and encouraged.”  She had to decide if she should take the “next right step” for her career, or spend the summer serving the Lord with CBR.  We are incredibly glad she chose CBR!

Isaiah Abney

We first met Isaiah last year at our Pro-Life Leadership Youth Camp in Columbus, Georgia.  Isaiah just graduated from high school, so we were both surprised and delighted that he wanted to spend his summer with us!  When we found out that he plans to join the military, we realized how serious and committed Isaiah is to the cause. “I wanted to do something tangible for God before I leave to the military, and He led me here, so I followed,” Isaiah reflected.

A driving force behind Isaiah’s pro-life convictions is his family.  He was raised in a very pro-life home in Georgia, but like many young kids, didn’t give it too much serious thought.  Then, his mother told him that she had had an abortion.  That made the bigger issue of abortion real and personal to Isaiah, and it inspired him to action.  We are blessed to have Isaiah with us this summer!

Klayton comes to us all the way from Oregon, where he was studying for his Associates degree and considering transferring to a Bible college.  Like the others, Klayton was raised pro-life, but only as he got older did he really begin to consider the gravity of abortion.  He was spurred to action when several friends and relatives got abortions, and he knew he had to do something.  Klayton explains:

I wanted professional training to learn how to stand up for the preborn and to learn how to do activism in the most effective way.  I came to CBR with the intention of making a difference saving lives back home.

Klayton Wasson

Klayton says that being outside an abortion clinic has been the most noteworthy experience of the internship so far.  It makes the otherwise abstract mothers and children a visual reality, and therefore harder to forget.

When asked what he plans to do after graduation, Klayton replied “Serve Jesus.”  Amen!  As to where he might serve, we have a place to recommend!

Thank you for supporting CBR and these outstanding young people.  Please pray that God will bring them back to us next year and also send many more.

Annie Whaley, our youngest 2020 Summer Intern, had been apprehensive about talking to strangers about abortion. Thanks to the training and mentoring she received, Annie was able to overcome that fear. She shared, “Doing [pro-life] activism is something I wanted to do, but I never really pictured myself doing it. But it pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me realize it’s not about me…it’s about sharing the truth.”

To hear more about Annie’s powerful experience as a CBR Intern, check out the video below.

We’re still accepting applications for our 2021 Internship, until February 28th! (The internship runs from May 17 to August 6 in Knoxville, Tennessee.) For more information and to submit an application, click here.

Already active in the pro-life movement, Britt Huddleston was a little skeptical that using abortion victim images would really make that much of a difference. Looking back, she said “I was definitely converted that first time we did activism…It got to the heart of the issue…You can’t deny the reality of abortion, that it’s killing a person, when you’re sitting there looking at it.”

To hear more about Britt’s powerful experience as a CBR Intern, check out the video below.

We’re still accepting applications for our 2021 Internship, until February 28th! (The internship runs from May 17 to August 6 in Knoxville, Tennessee.) For more information and to submit an application, click here.

Heidi Whaley had always been pro-life, but thought of abortion as a “distant problem” for which she had no personal responsibility. During CBR’s Summer Intern Program, Heidi’s view changed. “Through this experience, I’ve come to view abortion for what it really is: a bloody, ghastly war. I haven’t been asked to help fight in this war, I’ve been called by God.”

To hear more about Heidi’s powerful experience as a CBR Intern, check out the video below.

We’re still accepting applications for our 2021 Internship, until February 28th! (The internship runs from May 17 to August 6 in Knoxville, Tennessee.) For more information and to submit an application, click here.

When asked what she would say to fellow pro-life Christians, 2020 Intern Maggie Groover had this to say: “Why are you being silent? We know that this is going on. It’s not a secret. How can you ignore this any longer? It’s our responsibility to stand up.” 

To hear more about Maggie’s powerful experience as a CBR Intern, check out the video below. 

We are still accepting applications for our 2021 Internship, until February 28th! (The internship runs from May 17 to August 6 in Knoxville, Tennessee.) For more information and to submit an application, click here.